Apr 15, 2009

To esoterically credit the enigmatic, illustrious Otis Heterosexual, Godzilla (1998) is a largely entertaining film with great performances meaning only Jean Reno is the survivor of this thespian Western kaiju film. Another relic on exhibit are those 90s CGI effects that look rustic by today's standards and tiny Iguana monsters running around, slipping on gumballs, all the while, the Benny Hill theme plays in your head to a certain French extent. Roland Emmerich is a Hollywood trash icon of disaster films, most notably Independence Day, the upcoming 2012, and The Day After Tomorrow. Hailing from Western Germany, this fool has brought us many explosive summer blockbusters but they all lack any form of serenity. At long last, Emmerich seeks to fix this fatal flaw in popcorn films but buttering Godzilla down with that similar tragedy mercy-execution scene that was also visited to a purer effect in King Kong.

First understand that this film is an instant action classic of sorts and the casting decision of Jean Reno is to blame. In regards to his performance, It seems that Mr. Reno finally was able to mix his Elvis impersonation perfectly in context while making fun of Western civilization. His roles normally revolve around pro-France outlaws or self-loathing Frenchman. As seen in Flushed Away when telling his squad to make like the French, his team responded swiftly with a bold "We surrender!" Now for Jean Reno's credibility, this native Moroccan action star has worked himself out as a hero to me and I graciously enjoy every single film he has ever appeared in. Yes, even The Pink Panther. So it comes as no surprise to me that I thoroughly enjoyed Godzilla for what it was; Jean Reno driving away from a rabid lizard. Jean Reno is Godzilla's muse and without him, this film would be complete shit for the most part.

Godzilla must be seen in a post-Cloverfield atmosphere. It's intended this way with extreme cause. With Cloverfield fresh in my mind, Godzilla's action scenes came as a great nostalgic surprise to me. Enjoying the premature viral advertising of Godzilla, I found the chase scenes to be thrilling and the design of Godzilla to be fundamentally important to the American monster genre. For a PG-13 monster film, I noticed the light-hearted scenes to be followed with the implied ravaging of French agents as being especially dark for the set tone of Godzilla. Like most films depicting a crisis looking to be averted by military action, Godzilla revels in its own excess with corny Military humor and renegade hero soldiers. Kevin Dunn will later move on to play the exact same smartass role in Small Soldiers and Transformers.

Godzilla is, as we all know, a hulking reptile on two legs with a series of dorsal plates that magnify (seemingly) radiation to lend power to his atomic breath. When given the rights to this film, the US studios agreed a simple restriction on Godzilla: keep the spirit of Gojira intact. As we can see here, Roland Emmerich completely shat all over their requests, the spirit, and the creature itself. Rather than being seen as a monster, Godzilla is sympathized by Ferris Bueller as an animal suffering from maternal instincts. The idea of A-sexual capabilities definitely adds an obstacle and a precious 30+ minutes but ultimately fails in producing favor from an unsure audience. While most film coming from angry directors is brandished with a rebellious air of nihilism, Emmerich is the kind of angry director that gets heated by his work being critically maligned so he placed spoof characters of Siskel & Ebert as to shut them up. As expected, Godzilla went on to get "Two thumbs down."

Godzilla is a film that deserves the aberrant reaction that has been anchored in by bandwagon buffoons. I can't decide what is worse; the fact that Emmerich admitted to not liking the Godzilla films or the dialogue and casting of Simpsons regulars. Godzilla will never win the heart of the community but might find a hearty home in the eyes of cult film enthusiasts. It's one thing to enjoy a "bad" movie every now and again but to appreciate a film based on its reverse reception is ridiculous. Rebelling against rebellion will ultimately counter counterproductivity. In a way, I enjoyed the Godzilla film for the enthusiastic destruction of a playground known as New York but other than that, this film is carried on the shoulders of Jean Reno. I don't think I could handle sitting through this film for another 4 years though. Consider Roland Emmerich a provocateur of the present age.

3 comments:

otis heterosexual
said...

i know this is one of my favorite phrases but "godzilla" really is " ONE OF THE MOST LUDICROUSLY UNDER-RATED FILMS OF ALL TIME", and i dont agree about reno, this film would`ve been magnificent entertainment irrespective of who was or wasn`t in it. for me "godzilla" represents everything that is great about hollywood, when they get it right (as here) they produce films that are matchless in their ability to entertain, i actually thought "godzilla" was better that "jurassic park" (and i`ve always been a big fan of that film and the 2 sequels) thats how good i beleive "godzilla" to be, it is over 2 hours of truly superb entertainment of the highest calibre.

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